Oral care implements or items such as toothbrushes can be packaged and displayed either singly or in multiples of two or more within a blister package. One common blister package can include a cardboard backer and a clear polymer consumer-facing side that provides a bubble structure through which the toothbrush may be viewed. The consumer-facing side is typically contoured to receive the toothbrush and hold the toothbrush in place during shipping and display. In such structure, the toothbrush lays on the top of the backer, and bristles of the toothbrush are positioned to face, and are viewed through, the contoured consumer-facing side. The backer may be decorated with display graphics to be viewed when the toothbrush is displayed. The display graphics printed on the cardboard backer are arranged around the perimeter or footprint of the toothbrush because, for example, graphics printed on the backer within the perimeter of the toothbrush will be blocked by the toothbrush and are not therefore visible during display of the product. While printing graphics on the polymer consumer-facing side would provide a larger print area with greater visibility, forming quality graphics on the blistered consumer-facing side is difficult. Graphics printed on a flat polymer consumer-facing side prior to thermoforming are distorted during the thermoforming process. Printing graphics on the polymer consumer-facing side after thermoforming is difficult due to the contoured shape of the consumer-facing side. Decals placed on the polymer consumer-facing side subsequent to thermoforming are relatively expensive, and reliably adhering the decals to the contoured consumer-facing side is difficult.
Additionally, while the use of blister packages has proved to be cost-effective and effective at adequately protecting the toothbrush contained within, existing blister packages can be difficult to open.
Thus, a need exists for an easy-open blister package that eliminates one or more of the aforementioned deficiencies.